


By Their Hands

by karrenia_rune



Category: Heroes - Fandom
Genre: 1st season, F/M, Heroes, het community: Heroes Petrelli Some Family challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-02
Updated: 2010-06-02
Packaged: 2017-10-09 21:27:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/91784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karrenia_rune/pseuds/karrenia_rune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A brief quiet moment between Heidi and Nathan Petrell when he finally reveals to her his ability to fly; set midway during the 1st season.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By Their Hands

Disclaimer: Heroes and the characters of Heidi and Nathan Petrelli are the original creations of Tim Kring and NBC Television; they are not mine.

"By Their Hands" by Karen

 

To tell or not to tell, that was always the question. He looked at his own reflection in the beveled glass panes of the bathroom mirror and wondered if he should consider finding their collector's edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, the Hamlet play might be worth a revisit, but then he really did not have the time these days.

Nathan discarded the random literary allusion and concentrated on running the sharp razor over the rough black bristles of his face, finished and set the razor down. He unscrewed the cap from his aftershave lotion and lathered it onto his face.

Like so many other things of late, telling his wife, Heidi, about this 'ability that he had quite suddenly manifested' was going to be both difficult and awkward. The more so, because at the very moment he had gained the his own ability his wife had lost her own ability to walk.

Nathan does not often dwell on the past, but the guilt that the accident was still his fault, even though he knows that Heidi does not openly blame, still gnaws at him, especially in the late hours of the night.

After wrestling with this question of, Nathan had finally come to a decision, he was going to tell her about the flying. He did not have a planned speech by any means, nor do he figure it would be easy, but then, as he cleaned off the shaving cream foam from his face, and looked back at his reflection. "Sometimes it was the difficult tasks that were worth the most effort and ended up being the most rewarding. Nathan shook his head, clearing it of the inevitable cobwebs, and then turned around and went out through the door into the main hallway.

Nathan stops to check on the boys, both soundly asleep in their rooms off the main hallway, and then he continues on his way, determined to see this through, no matter how much he might want to deny himself for at time. Speaking of time, it was time they had this out, one way or another.

"Hon," Nathan whispered as he came out to the second floor sitting room, watching as the first blushes of the rising sun came in through the floor-to-ceiling windows and cast triangles of light on the cobbles of the balcony on the side of the house. At the moment, as the light touched her dark brown hair, shading it subtle hues, Nathan suddenly forgot about the accident and the mechanical wheel chair that she sat, and saw the woman he had fallen in love with all those years ago.

She turned at the sound of his wife and offered him a tired but reassuring smile. "You're up late, or is it early, I never can tell at this between-time. You know, Nathan, I'm often up at this time., it's kind of soothing."

Nathan stepped towards and run a hand through her hair. "Yeah, I think I can understand that, in some ways, the part about the light, I mean." "Come out on the terrace, there's something you need to see, something I've been telling you for quite some time."

"What do you mean?" Heidi asked, turning slightly in her seat, arms folded across her chest, but then, as she caught a look in her husband's eye, she unfolded her arms and wheeled herself towards the open terrace doors and through. "Well, I'm all ears, just like the Cheshire Cat."

"You always were fond of literary allusions," replied Nathan with a wistful smile.

"Look, I really did not have a speech planned," Nathan sighed and shifted his weight on the balls of his feet. "And before you get angry, just promise that you will hear me, though, okay?"

"I hate it when conversations start out like that, Nathan," Heidi Petrelli remarked, one black eyebrow raised in that expression that both Nathan and their boys knew quite well.

"Yeah, so do I," he replied as he mentally chewed over his next words like one might do with a tooth recently removed. "You see, on the night of the accident, something happened to me, and I've been keeping it a secret from you, from the boys, everyone."

"By everything we hold dear, Nathan Petrelli," Heidi silently exclaimed, Why are you doing this? Is this some kind of joke, but I will tell you honestly, it is not funny, by any means."

"I'm sorry, love," Nathan knelt down fumbling with trying to find something to occupy his hands and resting them on her arms. "I know but no measure that 'sorry' does not even remotely cover what happened to you. I'd like to be able to place the blame squarely at Linderman's door. It would be too easy."

"We're not digging up that old ghost again, are we?"

"I think I have to, no matter how painful it might be. I decided a few nights ago, that I needed to tell you the truth about something that happened the night of the accident."

"Nathan, you 're scaring me," Heidi whispered.

"Hell, I'm scaring myself, but if I don't do it now I might not be able to do it at all." Nathan stood up, studying her face, trying to memorize all of the features, hold the image in his mind. "This is going to sound very weird and very crazy, and I cold just blurt it out and be done with it, but I think it's one of those, 'you need to see it to believe it 'things."

"What are you talking about" demanded Heidi with a edge of concern creeping into her voice.

"You'll see." With that Nathan heaved a sigh, squared his shoulders, and then he stepped forward and unfastened the belt of his wife's wheelchair, and reached up to pick her up bodily, carefully cradling her in his arms. "Nathan, you blithering idiot, what by all that's sane do you think your are doing?" Put me down, this instant!"

"I will, later," he replied. Then without any words exchanged between Nathan concentrated, focusing on making sure he did this right the first time, and stepped off the ledge of the balcony, and as soon as he registered the fact, both he and his wife were airborne.

"Heidi struggled for a bit more she also made the connection, that she was also airborne, with nothing to support but the air, and her husband's arms. "What? How?" she trailed off. Nathan smiled and then said. "I can fly." It's pretty cool, huh?"

"That was the big secret?" Heidi dubiously questioned him.

"Yeah, now that my big secret is out," Nathan grinned. "What do we do about it?"

"Fly to me Never Never Land?" she suggested returning his smile with one of her own.

"I'm a bit old to play the role of Peter Pan, but what the hey," Nathan replied. "It's worth a shot." In the back of his mind, he realized that as difficult as things might be of late, for this brief moment all that existed for either of them was each other.


End file.
